Path to Financial Freedom

 PATH TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat

    It has been 3 years since I opened up a secured credit card.  Since then, my credit score has shot up 150 points, my bills have all been paid on time, and I have savings piling up.  As I updated my finances and projected my budget for the next fiscal period, I realized that soon, I'll be able to borrow from myself - at 0.0% APR!  How?  Read on...

    I have been scraping by since the pandemic struck.  With increases in my line of credit, I've been able to pay most bills using the credit card.  And with cash flow at a minimum, I've had to take cash advances on the credit cards, just to cover some bills that don't allow credit payment.  While I don't like the building balance due on the credit cards, I have been able to enjoy on-time payments with no late fees and penalties, my credit rating keeps going up, and I'm earning money back on rewards.  The catch? Paying interest.  We'll get back to this.

    I have also adopted a strict PAY MYSELF FIRST policy.  Any bit of income earned gets split up 6 ways: 1) Bills  2) SAVINGS  3)Investments  4) Education  5) Giving  6) Spending Money.  At times, I'm tempted to just pay down a credit card balance and save "later" - when my credit card balance is ZERO.  But, I sock away 10% of my earnings and deal with credit card balances and interest.  My credit card balance is still not zero, but my savings account is going up up up!  I realized that I will soon be in a position to borrow from myself, should cash flow become compromised one of these months.  Of course, I'll pay myself (savings account) back - the same as I would pay back the credit card - only I won't have to deal with any interest!  

    Savings had always been something abstract: untouchable, unusable, and mostly non-existent  - but now it is something I can leverage and BANK on!  While my savings account is nowhere near 6 figures, it is growing and allowing more FINANCIAL FREEDOM!  

    This economic journey would not have been possible without the lines of credit I've opened up and used (for rewards and overcoming cash flow hurdles).  I started with a Capital One secured credit card for $400, and now have over $20,000 in available credit (a bit of a cushion = PHEW!).  You can apply for a Capital One credit card by clicking this link: https://capital.one/36KRM7m and get started on your path to FINANCIAL FREEDOM today! 

Image by Kris on Pixabay